There is a real retirement savings crisis brewing in this country. Many folks are simply not saving enough to pay all their expenses for 20 or more years in retirement. That is why it was alarming when some of the early proposals of the tax reform package that was recently passed included such disincentives to… [Read More]

I was out recently with a college friend. She confided to me that a collections agency was after her for a medical bill she was having trouble paying. Later into the evening she proudly showed me her new iPhone 8 and a pair of expensive shoes she just treated herself to… Sound familiar? It seems like… [Read More]

2015 marks the rollout of the MyRA. Introduced by President Obama in his 2014 State of the Union address, the MyRA provides tax-advantaged savings for people who do not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. As many of these accounts will go live this year, it is important to understand the pros and cons… [Read More]

We all know the problem: most Americans are not saving enough for retirement. Gone are the days when a person worked for a company and retired with a generous pension. Also gone are the days when you could confidently rely on Social Security for a portion of your retirement income. Now it is up to each… [Read More]

How well do the members of your 401(k) committee understand their fiduciary responsibilities? How many of them understand that they could be found personally liable for breaches of their duties? With committees I have encountered, members are often recruited (sometimes reluctantly) based on their position with the company or perceived investment knowledge. But that does… [Read More]

Tim Armstrong, AOL’s CEO, is not having a good month. But thanks to AOL, we have a cautionary tale on the value of strategically and honestly communicating with employees. Now, more than ever, employers find themselves in the difficult situation of cutting or changing employee benefits – just as AOL recently did when they made… [Read More]

As I sat through a recent industry conference on the Affordable Care Act I was struck by how many hoops employers will have to jump through in the next several years and how little time they will have left to pay attention to their benefit programs. The HR managers, benefit professionals and CFOs whom I regularly… [Read More]

Under new Department of Labor rules which are finally, after several delays, about to be implemented, every employee participating in their employers’ 401(k) and 403(b) plans is about to get some shocking news. Because of an extension in applying these new rules, they will receive a disclosure statement beginning in August that will detail the fees… [Read More]